U.S. maritime imports departing from ports affected by the Strait of Hormuz disruption fell 93.2% year-on-year in May, according to a new report from Descartes. The sharp decline marks the clearest indication yet of the impact of the waterway’s closure on U.S. trade flows.
Descartes said imports from Hormuz-affected ports dropped from 1.5 million metric tonnes in May 2025 to just 100,591 metric tonnes in May 2026. The report covers cargo departing from ports in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The biggest decline came in mineral fuels (HS27), including crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Imports in this category from Hormuz-affected ports fell 92.8% to 80,878 metric tonnes, representing the largest loss among all major commodity groups analysed.
Overall U.S. imports of HS27 products also declined, falling 15.2% year-on-year from 19.3 million metric tonnes to 16.4 million metric tonnes. Descartes said the figures suggest the Strait of Hormuz disruption had a measurable impact on U.S. fuel imports, although cargo from other regions helped offset part of the decline.
“May 2026 import data offers the clearest evidence so far of the impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure on U.S. trade flows,” said Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes.
“While the decline was broad-based across mineral fuels, fertilizers, refined petroleum products, crude oil, and aluminum transiting the Strait, the broader U.S. import impact varied by product category. For supply chain professionals, trade data provides an important lens to monitor the situation as it evolves in order to better understand routing risk, supplier exposure, and the potential downstream impact of maritime disruptions.”
Descartes noted that May data reflects cargo departing from affected ports rather than countries of origin. It also cautioned that typical maritime transit times of 30 to 45 days mean some shipments may have left before the disruption or experienced delays before arriving in the United States.
